Readers’ Rods - July 2013

James Inden built this 1953 Ford convertible in the very early 1960s, entering it in the 1961 Oakland Roadster Show in the Semi Custom Convertible class. It featured 1956 Packard taillights, custom side trim, frenched headlights and side pipes, smoothed bumpers, and shaved handles and decklid. The hood corners were rounded with air scoops added to the hood and rear fenders. Painted Dodge blue, the Ford's interior was upholstered in blue and white, with blue teardrop dash knobs, the trunk trimmed in all white. It also has a 283 Chevy with dual quads and a four-speed trans.

That motor and trans eventually found their way into Inden's other car, this 1929 A coupe, though at the time these pictures were taken in 1962, it was running a Caddy engine with LaSalle trans. Also blue, with a blue and white interior, the coupe had a wooden box instead of a decklid. Inden still owns the coupe, though today it has a regular rumble seat, and 1929 bumpers front and rear. A Corvette IRS lives under the rear now, with disc brakes used all round.

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Ernie RoebuckOreland, Pennsylvania1947 Ford Fordor Sedan

Ernie Roebuck writes: "I was looking for a 1947 Merc coupe to rebuild, like the one I had in high school. My wife spotted this car for sale on her way to the food store. She came home and told me to go look at it; it was not a Merc but it was workable. A big plus was that it still had the Flathead in it. My wife said, ‘If you want it, buy it, and that was all I had to hear.' Lucky me, huh?

"After purchasing the car in November 2001, I drove it through the winter to see what needed doing. I rebuilt the drivetrain and detailed the engine and engine compartment. I continued to drive it while purchasing parts. In the winter of 2003 I frenched the taillights, then got a pair of '53 Buick headlight buckets from a junkyard and welded them in.

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"In Fall 2004 I stripped the car, removing all the fenders, hood, trunk, and glass. A local shop painted it for me in the winter of 2005. New smoked glass and interior were fitted, and I haven't stopped driving it since that following summer."

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Phillip StokesGibsonville, North Carolina1955 Chevrolet Sedan

Phillip Stokes has been a subscriber to R&C since 1953, and this is his 1955 Del Ray. Bought in 2006, he states, "It was not really necessary to do any work on the car. The original interior and exterior color combination attracts a lot of attention." However, he updated the running gear with a 350-horse crate engine, 700-R4 transmission, aluminum radiator, Vintage Air A/C, power steering, and a Flaming River tilt steering column. An Alpine stereo provides oldies and beach music!